The Countdown
by AwesomeGirl101
Summary: It all started with a death. A gruesome end. A horrific find. And it wouldn't stop. Not until it got what it wanted. Not until it got what it needed. Not until it got...
1. Chapter 1

**HEY! I hope you enjoy my first Kaze No Stigma fanfic. There is going to some serious drama in this so make sure you're prepared. ;D**

**R&R! DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE:**

**Gore**

**Horror**

**Sadness (This one is a big one, the fanfic is very sad.)**

* * *

It all started with a death.

Well, a second death to be precise but that first line held a dramatic intake so, we'll stick with that.

"Another murder?" Ayano Kannagi asked, sighing rather loudly when Kirika nodded.

The deaths of women were becoming too persistent now. It had happened over a month ago and yet there were two people dead. The murderer gave no sign that he appeared in the scene, gave no single glass of evidence that he killed and even when they did find something, it turned out it was from careless Ayano's torn clothing. This heartless freak was trying to mess with people's heads. The Special Investigation Unit's head in particular.  
The citizens of Japan started a riot only yesterday, yet nearly 300 people were involved. They wanted revenge. For the death's of their loved ones. 'And all the police were doing were staying indoors.'

That was hardly the case.

"It was a woman in her 40s this time." Kirika added, stroking the center of her temple sorely. Ayano looked at the woman before noticing Kazuma's stern expression. His brows were furrowed and his lips were tightly pressed together. Knowing him, she knew he was figuring something out.

"Wasn't it a lady in her 50s last time?" Ren asked, leaning forward as to see what would happen. Kirika glanced at the boy before sighing. She lifted her head up, staring at the pale-coloured ceiling intently, as if all the world's secrets were on it.

"Yes, it was." She replied, "But I don't see any connection."

Ayano tilted her head, "Connection?"

"A similarity between the two women." Kazuma answered in her stead. Ayano nodded in understanding.

A similarity, huh? A connection. The two women looked nothing alike, their names had no similar meanings and their professions were of different stages. Was their supposed to be a connection? Or was it just random citizens? Ayano thought hard. The method of death weren't even vaguely alike, either. Besides the fact that it was a horrible, gruesome end, the way they were killed were different. It had Ayano thinking.  
How a killer could do such a thing without even a slight hesitation was disgusting. Completely horrifying.

The thought of the next victim was too hard to bear.

"A woman in her 50s..." Ayano mumbled to herself, "Another in her 40s..."

Nothing was coming up. There wasn't even a small flick of light. She was about to give another loud sigh when the door to the meeting room swung open. A man, clearly working with Kirika, panted as he said the words:

"Another...another...death...murdered." It was all the had to be said to get everyone on their feet. The scene wasn't far away from the residence. In fact, it only took half an hour to get there. That first victim, it took 50 minutes to get to the scene from the Kannagi mansion. The second death took 40 minutes. But that wasn't something they were thinking about as they entered the crime scene.

It was a horrific sight.

Ayano had to quickly cover Ren's eyes before shutting her own to make the image fade away. Witnesses were kept far back from the body, a nightmare that they would rather not see. Kirika covered her mouth quickly, trying to calm down. While the only one left, Kazuma Yagami, stared at the woman in horror. It was disgusting. Cruel. Sadistic. Those words didn't even come close.

The woman's eyes were wide-open, as if everything came as a shock. The killer was too quick for her to even react. Her neck was slit open, her stomach organs pooled around her, her leg in an unusual position and her heart taken. Exactly like all the others. That was one similarity. But it gave nothing to who the killer was. What the Sadistic maniac was doing. Every victim died a different way but their hearts were always taken. Why? Why did it come down to this?

The inspector walked beside Kirika, placing a hand on her shoulder. It took everything the detective had to not cry. To block out the tears.

"Sakura Kamasagi," Different name. The man read, wiping his eyes so he couldn't remember the body, "Age: 31 years. Profession: Business Clerk. A married woman with two children, Kari, age 3 and Aki, age 6."

Kirika held back a gentle sob. A beautiful lady, a happy family all shattered, because of what...? Satisfaction? Pleasure? The want? The killer didn't know what he brought himself into. It didn't know how many lives it was ruining. It probably didn't care. It was disgusting. Heartless.

"A woman in her 50s..." Ayano mumbled again, her eyes still tight shut, "The second in her 40s..." Her eyes gently opened, "Another in her 30s."

Ayano screamed as the realization struck her. Her arms let go of Ren, making him stumble backwards. Her hands went to the side of her face as she let out a powerful yell. There was a connection. There was a similarity. It was coming. Closer. It wouldn't stop. It was coming.

"Ayano!" Kazuma yelled, trying to grab her arm. The girl struggled out of his grasp. It was coming. Coming. Closer. Slower.

"Ayano!" It wouldn't stop. It wouldn't rest. It wants something. It wants something. What...? She'll give you anything. Just stop. No more. No more!

It was counting down...

50

40

30...

* * *

**I hoped you enjoyed. Write you later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope you enjoy this one! This chapter is not ****_that_**** sad!**

* * *

Ayano woke up with yet another scream. Her head was smothered in sweat, and she had sprung out of her bed into the chilling cold. She was in her bedroom. In her house. Alone. Paranoia crept up her spine like a tarantula spider, she swung her head quickly around her. There was nothing there. Not yet, anyways.  
A minute later, Ren ran into the room, shouting out words inaudible to her. The red-haired girl glanced around before staring at Ren. He was breathing heavily, and he looked exhausted. Like he hadn't slept a wink.

"Ren?" She asked, faintly touching the edge of his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

The boy looked up at her, smiling. She tried to do the same but all that came out was a small whimper. She couldn't forget, "I'm fine, Ayano, don't worry. It's you." He replied. Kannagi stared at him in shock.

"Me?"

The blonde nodded, looking around as if someone was watching them. She was happy that she wasn't the only one feeling the paranoia too, "Yesterday. At the-" He swallowed hard, "Crime scene."

A sharp breath was sucked in. She remembered. How on Earth could she forget? It was never going to leave her mind, no matter how much she wanted it to. But she had to forget. She just had to, "I...think I'm fine now. It's nothing to worry about."

The boy paused, "Are you sure?" Ayano nodded. Ren smiled before gesturing for the sweaty girl to come downstairs. She didn't refuse. Being upstairs alone was too much for her now, before she could handle it fine. But now...now she felt like so many eyes were watching her. Once she reached the meeting room, everyone was there. Everyone's eyes were calmly focused on her. Kazuma's showing more of worry than anything else.

"Hello." She said. Looking at Jugo, who sat at the end, she bowed, "Good morning, Father." Jugo nodded back.

"Good _afternoon_." He answered. No one made a sound, "You know perfectly well why we are here..." He started. Ayano blinked slowly to reply.

"Yes, I know." She mumbled, her voice barely audible.

"Would you like to explain?" Kirika interrupted. Her fringe fell in front of her eyes, Ayano tried to stay calm. They didn't understand. The pain. The realization. The knowing that something was coming. And it was cruel. Sadistic. Mental. Ayano could barely look anyone in the eye.

"It's counting down." She said to her lap. A sound of a gasp came from beside her.

"Counting?" Kirika asked. Ayano didn't want to explain. She didn't want them to understand. They would surely end up unfocused. Unbelieving.

"A woman in her 50s was the first victim," She said reluctantly, "The other in her 40s..." She was too close to tears to explain about it, "You understand?"

Kirika nodded, well aware that she couldn't explain anymore. She got the outline of it. Although it wasn't the information she actually wanted to hear, "The remaining questions are: What does it want? Who is it?" Everyone became silent. Those questions were obviously too far ahead for anyone to answer.

"That means..." The silence was broken with Kazuma's serious voice, "The next victim..."

Another sharp breath was taken in, "Is young." Ayano added, "A girl in her 20s."

"Why women?" Kirika added, trying not to picture the ending of that girl, "Why them?" Everyone kept silent. Another question too far ahead for anyone to understand. They thought. Sat in wonder at what the unstable person was thinking. All the while knowing that someone, extremely young and barely starting their life, was going to die. And no one knew who. There were many people in Japan that were 20. It would be shameful to take them all.  
A row of single clapping was heard from the outside of the door. Every head turned to face it, there was a shadow. A dark, murky, short shadow that stood outside, noticing all its eyes on him.

"You finally got it," It said. The sound vaguely familiar, "All those lives gone to waste." Ayano grunted in her throat as she remembered the carrier of the voice. Her hand sprung back and a serious spark of fire slammed through the door.

"Ayano." Kazuma warned, his voice so close to irritation. The girl didn't look at him. Once the fabric had burned out, her eyes narrowed as her predictions were deemed correct.

"Utsumi." Ayano clarified, causing Kirika to look at him. The blonde nodded as she remembered the case of the pervert, she never would've thought that he would be involved in this.

"You're not just a pervert but a murderer as well." The red-haired's fist curled tight. It wasn't a question.

Utsumi chuckled before annoyingly shaking his head. Ayano glared at him, thinking of ways to burn him alive. To make him feel the pain the women had felt when they died. He deserved to die a slow, painful death. Utsumi clapped his hands one more time, "You're quite slow," He said. Ayano stiffened as she took a deep breath, "I mean, I'm not capable of doing such a thing."

The wind around them started to shift, no one but Ayano noticed this. She glanced at Kazuma who had his eyes strictly on Utsumi. He was clearly angry, Ayano tried to signal him to calm down. He didn't see; he didn't listen.

"You know who did it." He said. Utsumi grinned from ear-to-ear.

"You're picking up speed." Was all he said. The wind shifted again, this time becoming more frightening. Ren started to realize this after a few seconds. He stared at Kazuma in worry.

"Why are you here Utsumi?" Ayano asked. She wanted him out of the house before the whole roof came apart. The air was clearly dissolving. Ayano could hardly breathe.

"To warn you." He answered. Everything stopped. Ayano looked around as she caught him staring at her. Only her. Utsumi only grinned.

"You." He emphasized, pointing his finger at the paranoid girl. She froze. This wasn't her fault. This couldn't be-! She didn't want it to. All those deaths because of what she had, what she was given? Did she have what they were looking for? Did she have what they wanted?

Utsumi shook his head, "You just don't know what you're capable of...Ayano Funagami."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Write you later!**


	3. Chapter 3

Utsumi gave out a heart-full laugh, at Ayano's expression. Confusion. Anger. Hatred. All mixed into one face. He stared at her until she had the guts to look away. She had noticed something different from him. Something she had only just seen. His eyes. They were a different colour. A completely different colour. Grey. An odd, sharp grey that made her want to scream. He noticed her intent gaze then gave himself a little grin.

"Surprised?" No one answered, "It's quite an interesting doing-"

Before he could ramble on and Ayano would be tempted to burn him, she cut him off. The air around them settled a bit but not enough to calm the girl down. She glanced at him again before she spoke:

"Let me guess," A sigh came out, "You're an entity of Utsumi's image." Utsumi glared at her. She didn't react.

He sucked in a sharp breath, "Yes. Like Lapis." His eyes flickered for a second to Kazuma. Ayano wanted to do the same, she wanted to see Kazuma's expression at the mention of Lapis' name. Although, when she did turn her head a fraction, Kazuma expression was mute. He didn't look like he cared or that he was bothered that Utsumi was here.

That just made Utsumi smile wider. That was enough to tell Ayano, that this bastard was up to something.

"Utsumi." Another familiar voice, "You better not be dawdling."

Ayano noticed the change of expression on the boy's face, smugness to fear, when the figure appeared in front of the doorway. The air around them shattered, then continued stirring fast this time. The figure didn't notice, or didn't care, with the atmosphere around it. It just walked in front of the glaring Ayano, her purple eyes trying to interrogate her appearance.

"Have you told her?" She asked, sounding as bored as she looked.

Utsumi scratched his head, "Err, well...no, Lapis."

"Why not?"

As Utsumi tried to think of a good excuse, Ayano tried to think of a plan to get both of them out of the residence. She could tell by the wind circling around them that, Kazuma was not comfortable. And he wasn't happy. The red-haired took a glance at the man diagonal from her, he still had the same expression but his eyes looked sharped in a way. A bad way.

"What do you want...Lapis?" She asked, standing up so they could be eye-to-eye.

The girl twisted her head robot-like, her purple eyes slanted to Ayano's red ones.

"You need to die."

At that moment, Kirika and Kazuma both jumped onto their feet. Ayano could see the grin on Utsumi's face when they both took on their attacking positions. They were planning something. Or he was going to enjoy what Lapis was about to say. Ren, as he let out a sharp breath, studied Utsumi's face.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, also standing up so he could attack. Ayano only looked at him, worried smothered over her face. Ren was too young. Too innocent. Too...Ren, to be out in the center of all of it. She had to protect him. Protect him from anything Lapis, Utsumi or even Bernhardt were operating against them.

"Ayano Funagami. Age: 16. Occupation: Student," Her eyes were piercing through Ayano's body and her voice sounded like she was reading off a paper, "Funagami is the child born from the Great Spirit King, the maker of all Kings," Ayano's heart stopped as Lapis continued, "The Great Spirit King created all the Yōma, the clans, Enraiha, Slime, Elixir..." She turned her head to face Kazuma, "...Belial."

"What?" Kazuma asked. Ayano took a step towards the girl.

"You're lying."

Lapis didn't answer. Instead, she continued to look straight and she brought on that voice again, "The lover of the Spirit King gave birth to a young girl. Arcana. She was sent down to Earth, in the hands of the Kannagi Clan, to protect her from all the evil. She was stripped off her power, memory and name. This girl, Arcana, was given the name..." Lapis' eyes sliced toward 'Funagami', "Ayano."

Ayano shook her head ferociously, "You're lying."

"However, the Spirit King wanted his daughter to join him. So, on the 6 month of Ayano being 16, her powers would awaken and she would become Arcana again." Lapis kept the same bored expression on her face.

Ayano tried not to listen, "You're lying." Her voice was rising higher bit by bit.

"She will be said to awaken to the language of the Spirit King." Lapis controlling voice stopped. Ayano yelled out a great,

"YOU'RE LYING!"

Lapis didn't react, "Am I?"

As much as Ayano wanted to believe that it was a lie, as much as she wanted to dismiss it, there was a deep pat inside of her that knew it was true. She could feel the flames burning in her chest as Lapis explained. Ayano was Arcana. The great daughter of the Spirit King. Destined to awaken to her powers on the 6 month of being 16. She had everything inside of her. Everything that wanted out quickly.

"Even if it is true," Kirika added, "What do you want with her?"

Kazuma saw the small tug of Lapis' lips as Kirika's words came into hearing. He growled in his throat, trying to keep his powers stable.

"Arcana can absorb everything. She has the energy to create Yōma and resurface Belial." Jugo, who had sat there listening intently, snapped his head up.

"As you said, Arcana cannot awaken until she hears the language of the Spirit King," Jugo glanced at his daughter, "A language that no one has been taught to speak."

Lapis looked at him, slanting her eyes ever so slightly, "We will find a way."

Utsumi took a step forward, mockingly bowing towards Ayano, "Until then, we must be off." And before anyone could blink, before anyone could protest or take action.

They were gone.

* * *

"They're lying! Obviously lying!" Ayano yelled, an hour after they had all calmed down, "Trying to get into our heads!"

"It's not a lie, Ayano." Jugo answered, sipping his tea calmly as if he had seen it all before.

The girl tried not to rave, tried not to lose her temper for how calm her 'father' was being. They had to be lying. They had to be. It was all just a stupid mistake. Ren tried his very best to get Ayano smiling again but it was no use. The deaths of the woman had stopped but the riot had only begun.

"Arcana is not me." Ayano told herself, "It's not me!"

"Accept it, Ayano." Jugo replied. She shook her head ferociously.

"It's not me!"

Ayano had never seen her father, Jugo, lose his patience in a bad manner before in her life. He would usually sit her down, and talk to her until she would calm down. But Jugo had had enough. He slammed his cup on the coaster beside him and yelled out a loud cry,

"Arcana Funagami! That is your name! You are the daughter of the Great Spirit King!" His eyes softened and his voice became lower, "So please, Ayano, accept it."

* * *

**If that explanation of Ayano doesn't make sense. Plz, tell me!** **If it does, thank you for reading, R&R!**

**Oh, and, DW, Ayano was only being a bit paranoid in these chapters because of what she saw, and how they were connected. Ayano will be Ayano again in the next chappie.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Kazuma had been standing outside, in the freezing cold, with the same furious expression on his face, for 5 minutes. It wasn't that he was mad or he was outraged with a decision someone had made, but he was thinking. Thinking about what that Tsui-Ling look-a-like had been telling them. Jugo was saying it was true, saying that he couldn't tell them even if he wanted to. But Ayano...Ayano was far from believing. Far from seeing the truth without significant proof. But as much as Ayano yelled at them for even considering that it was true, Kazuma felt that, no matter what they said, Ayano was this Arcana Funagami.

No one had ever said, or a legend being told, about the Great Spirit King, maker of all things, to have a daughter. But even if he did, the very situation made sense. Arcana would have been stripped off everything she knew to be safe. Hell, Kazuma would have done the same thing. However (and this was a big however), with Bernhadt knowing this. Many people would find out too. She had to power to create or awaken any Yōma, to use all the four gifts that were given. To think, Ayano Kannagi more powerful than all the other Spirit Kings in the world. Kazuma let out a chuckle even with the thought of it.

She was naive, careless, impetuous...all the things that could get her into trouble. Kazuma's grin wiped off his face as quick as it came. All the things that could get her killed. She had to be taught, otherwise Kazuma wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"Kazuma?"

Jenga. He had thought about her too much.

The man twisted his head, trying his best not to make his eyes cold. She just didn't know how special she was. To the Kannagi Clan. To Ren. To the Spirit King...to him. This girl had no idea how much she meant to everyone around her. If she were to die, no one would know what to do with themselves. What to do with their lives.

For Kazuma, life would be meaningless. Just like when he lost...

"Are you okay?"

That very question swept relief into Kazuma. He had to thank her for making him stop thinking. Before it got too deep. Before he thought of all the things he lost.  
Noticing the pained expression on his face, Ayano walked towards touching his forehead worriedly.

"Kazuma, you've been out here for a long time," She said, "You might get a fever."

He smiled, "I'm fine," He waited for her hand to come down to her side, "What about you?"

Kazuma could feel the anger Ayano was letting out. The change of emotion...only Ayano could do that. She furiously glared up at the moon, feeling the cold air press against her hair.

"I don't believe it," Her voice was rough, like she had been saying that too many times, "No matter how much Father says it's true. I am Ayano Kannagi. Heir to the Kannagi Clan. I'm not anyone else."

Kazuma glanced at her, "Don't you think it to be a little true." It wasn't a question.

Ayano swung her head back down in disgrace. Kazuma smiled. From concern, to anger, to shame all in one minute. It was a record. She gave out a deep sigh. Something, which Kazuma had guessed, she had wanted to do for a long time.

"I do." She admitted, "But it's nothing. I am Arca-" She shook her head in outrage, "I mean, Ayano Kannagi!"

Pity washed over Kazuma like a wave. She had so much in her head, she wasn't even sure who she was anymore. Who she needed to be-

"Brother? Ayano?" Ren said, placing his head into the cold midnight air. The two both looked at him, smiling, covering their real emotions deep inside, "Uncle wants to see you."

Ayano placed on her angry face. Kazuma tried to still his calm expression. They were going to find out whether Ayano was who she said she was...or not.

* * *

"Ayano, sit down." Jugo advised, gesturing to the cushion in front of him. Ayano fidgeted as she followed. She couldn't bear to look at him, not while he believed all the stupid nonsense.

"Ayano..." He sighed, "If you need proof to see that you are the Spirit King's daughter, then it is what you will get."

The girl's heart started to beat recklessly as Jugo brought out an ancient, covered book. For some reason, Ayano felt drawn to it, like it was protecting her from something evil. She tried to blink the feeling away. It wasn't working. She felt more drawn to it the more she tried to look away.

The book was covered with a beautiful, red ribbon, creating a wonderfully done bow in the front. It was covered in dust, and the pages were gold but ripped. As if it had been in hiding for many years. Jugo looked up at her as he, placed his finger in the middle page and opened it. A golden, wistful aura emerged from it, covering the whole room to make everything seem like a dream. Ayano could only hope it was.

"I will awaken the Arcana inside of you." He said. Kazuma interjected quickly.

"Is that wise?" He asked, "What happened if Bernhardt caught her. She would have the power to awaken Belial."

Ayano turned her head to Kazuma, an angered expression smothered on her face. She was more hurt than angry, but she would be damned if she let him see it.

"So, you believe this Arcana business!?" She yelled irrationally, "I am not Funagami. Therefore the spell would not work!" She swiftly twisted to her father, her voice calm and cool, "Please read it, Father."

"I don't think it's wise." Kazuma said, slanting his eyes at Ayano. She didn't look at him.

"It will not work."

"What if it does?"

"It will not WORK!"

It will work. The sentence kept ringing into Ayano's head. She had proof that she was Arcana, she knew that she was. But she didn't want to believe it. Didn't want it to be true. She remembered it like it was yesterday. The way her blood boil when she found out her only trustworthy friend left, the way she stormed off into her bedroom when she realized he was never coming back, the way her belongings flew across the room and the glass shattered as she screamed when she knew...when she knew she would be all alone. It was an unforgettable day. And she tried her best to forget, and sometimes it would succeed but it would always come back to her. Always.

She needed to proof to know that it was all a coincidence. To know that it was just that day.

Jugo looked at them for a while before he glanced to the book, reading over the words before he spoke out loud, "Nayańja saŗna. Meỡrn-" Ayano closed her eyes as she felt the soothing power wriggle its way out of her heart. It was finally going to be free. So it was true, Ayano Kannagi was Arcana Funagami after all. She knew it. She felt it. She just wished it wasn't her. Jugo switched from the Spirit King's language to translate, "The daughter of Kings, the spirit of evil, the flesh of human awaken." It was that simple sentence. Those simple set of words that caused Ayano to scream out a cry.

The golden aura shifted towards her, covering her whole body as she changed. She was no longer going to be called by the name she was so used to. The spirit forcefully freed itself out of Ayano's skin. The red hair than Ayano tried her very best to keep shiny, formed into a dark red. To look like a river of blood. Her crimson eyes, twirled to look a cerulean ocean. A band made out of pure gold appeared floating on top of her, settling itself to live on her head. And her arms, her smooth skin showed markings of ancient writing written by the Kings.

She looked different, but, somehow, she still looked like the Ayano they all knew.

But what Jugo kept a secret, what he didn't say or show the anyone else, was the writing written at the bottom of the book. The destiny of Arcana Funagami:

_If awakened, prepare at your own risk, the destiny of my daughter, Arcana, is something worse than death._

* * *

**I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Write you later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**BTW, Arcana is Ayano, in case you get confused. But I'm going to use Arcana because she has awakened, so she's no longer Ayano. But nevertheless, Arcana ****is**** Ayano. Not anyone else. **

**ARCANA IS AYANO!**

**Thank you. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Arcana** woke up the next morning, not in her bed, or even in her bedroom, but outside the meeting room doors. She felt different than she did the day before. She felt...free. Her memory came back to her that night she was awakened like lightening. It wasn't a pristine image but it was something. Arcana rubbed her forehead. Maybe there was a cure to turning her back to the girl she was before. She liked that person. Ayano Kannagi. She just wanted to be normal. Well, not _normal._

All these thoughts were rushing to her head, she didn't even know how to stick to one subject. She had to find out more about herself. And she wasn't going to get any answers if she would to stay out here.

"Hello?" Her voice was the same at least. That bit of her hadn't changed yet.

Arcana looked around, everyone was here, everyone that was with her for the awakening at least. Arcana tried not to make a sound. They were all asleep. Fast asleep. Her eyes sought for the book. The dusty, golden one with the red ribbon, the one that had the ancient language. She needed it. Arcana had no idea why, but she did, and she was determined to find it.

She proceeded to take a step into the room when her eyes caught the sight of her legs. It wasn't that they were distorted or oddly-shaped, but there were markings. Green markings written around her ankle. Like a ring. She lifted her feet so she could see it properly. They were odd. She didn't know what it meant, but she could feel its radiating power from it. Her feet went back to the floor before she blew up the whole residence.

The book now at the back of her mind, Arcana tried to find other markings around her body. There were red markings on her chest, small weak orange language on her arms, white frail ones along her collarbone and, as she craned her eyes to see, a big black marking on the side of her neck. Each letter emanating either, powerful or weak, power from her. She tried not to touch any of them.

"So this is me, huh?" She mumbled to herself. She tried to make sense of it all when her mind got side-tracked again.

Kazuma.

He was asleep, holding Ren close to him as if he would get hurt. It made Arcana's heart flutter. She may have had a different name, a different look and a different heritage, but that didn't mean she was different from who she was before. She still had this weird feeling with Kazuma that she couldn't get to bottom of.

He had such a baby face. Even though he seemed tough and non-fragile with her, she knew inside he was somewhat of a softy. Not a big one, but still a softy. She tip-toed towards him, leaning in closer to him so she could see his face. Such a baby. He looked so defenseless when he slept.

"How long are you going to admire my features, Princess?"

Arcana held back a shriek, quickly covering her mouth when she saw Ren stir. He hadn't yet opened his eyes. Ayano almost had a heart attack. Kazuma prompted himself up on one elbow, as he smirked at her. Her face showed all the satisfactory he needed.

He studied her from head to toe, then vice-versa. She looked different. Still like Ayano, but just different features. Her eyes especially captured his. Not like her other eyes didn't, but this colour seemed to keep him in a trance. Luckily, it didn't last for too long.

"Look, I appreciate you swooning over me," He sighed. Arcana tried to suppress her blush, "But we've got serious issues here."

Arcana seemed to have only heard the first sentence. Giving up trying to keep her face plain, Arcana's face turned bright red. It was all it took for Arcana not to bring out her Enraiha, if she could anyways. Kazuma gave her a smirk as she tried to hold back, completely noting that Ren was still asleep. And she didn't want to wake him up.

"I wasn't swooning." She muttered, keeping her eyes away from his face. Kazuma lifted himself a little higher, making sure Ren's head was still comfortable.

"I beg to differ." He answered, smiling in satisfactory when her neck went red too.

Arcana turned her body to storm off. She needed some cool air so her face would stop burning. But what she didn't expect, and what made everyone wake up a few minutes later, was when Kazuma grabbed her wrist. He had made sure Ren was still asleep and comfortable, then pulled her down so he could look at her properly. Her face went brighter than that day when he had kissed her hair. She truly was speechless. He cupped her face so that she couldn't look away. Then he leaned his face in so that their noses were touching. It was too much fun watching her reactions.

"If you want to look, just ask." He mumbled, making their lips an inch apart.

They were practically breathing on each other, something which made Arcana's heart stop. Not literally. His breath was warm, deep and somehow very mysterious. It took everything Arcana had not to just kiss him there. If she had, he would've won. And she hated it when he won. Instead, she just looked into his eyes, clearly trying to calm down. He inched himself closer.

Of course, Kazuma wasn't intending to kiss her. In fact, he was planning to kiss her on the nose or forehead, but something stopped him when he looked into her eyes. At first, it was a trance, something which made his heart flip. Something which not even Tsui-Ling was able to do. Then it was when he saw something, something which made him stop all together.

Her eyes showed markings.

He knew it was the ancient language. He knew that she had markings all over her body, but, this one was different. It was like it was calling to him. Telling him that he had a duty to fulfill. He couldn't look away. They were blue, lighter than her cerulean eyes actually. She blinked and it burned brighter. Arcana clearly didn't know it was happening, she probably couldn't feel it. But Kazuma could, and he did. He felt like he had a mission that hadn't been introduced yet.

The silence between them continued, for quite a long time actually. It only took Arcana a couple of seconds to realize what they were doing, her face turned into pure disgust. She jumped up before he could do anything else, then, just like she did before, called out Enraiha.

"Ren, move!" She yelled, making sure that he could hear her. Ren woke with a startle, staring at Arcana in horror.

"Ayano, w-wh-?" Arcana had no time to correct him on her name. She told him to move one more time.

"W-Why?" He asked. Kazuma stared at her in shock for a second, noticing that the mark had disappeared. Finally, after a few other seconds, he realized that she was intending to kill him. He looked at her in amusement.

"I'm going to kill your brother." She said, before raising her sword high above her head, "KA-ZU-MA!"

"Ayano." She stopped. Her body froze as she heard her 'Father's' voice. Her face was still red but her expression became serious.

"It's Arcana." She corrected. Everyone in the room looked at her. She felt the blood draining away from her face.

Jugo cleared her throat, "Arcana...calm down."

And she did. Everyone remained silent as they looked at the ground. There was so much Arcana wanted to ask, but she couldn't bring the words out to say it. That was, until...

Ren let out an alarming scream.

* * *

**Hoped you liked it! Write you later!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews, they literally got me teary-eyed. If that's even a word or how it's spelt. And since it Christmas Eve, I'm going to try my best to upload as many chapters as I can.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ren!"

It was useless. Calling out his name wasn't going to do anything. Ren's eyes were wide-open as a girl, looking a little bit older than him, had a knife pressed against his throat. They all kept quiet when tears started to appear around her eyes.

She was in trouble.

Arcana didn't know how, but she knew she was. Her mind was telling her so. Plus, it didn't take a scientific genius to know that she was hurt. Bad. If they approached this fist first, Ren would have his throat slit open. All they had to do was be patient. And wait.

"Don't come closer!"

None of them moved. Kazuma knew for a fact that she wasn't going to kill him. Not intentionally, anyways. First of all, her hands were full of cold blisters, which meant that it took almost half her strength to even hold that damn thing. Second, there were bags underneath her eyes, causing her another pile of strength to keep them open. And third, she was pale. If she continued on like this, she would surely die.

"Calm down." Arcana whispered, waving her hands down to in case she couldn't hear.

She could, but she didn't want to. The knife pressed against his neck came an inch closer. Kazuma almost jumped at her. The look on Ren's face told him that he couldn't take the pressure any longer. He had no idea what Ren was thinking of, but he knew that it was a bad idea.

"What's your name?" Kazuma asked, trying to keep his voice down.

The girl stared at him in awe. She was threatening a boy, who was clearly important to them, life and all he asked was her name! She blinked a couple of times, thinking whether or not she should give them her real name.

"Anna," She whispered, "Anna."

Arcana smiled and, unknowingly to Anna, took a step forward, "That's a pretty name." She replied, genuinely meaning it, "Now, can you tell me where you came from?"

Anna shook her head. It was as if she was trying to shake away the bad memories. That stopped her in her tracks. Anna's eyes, grey and dull, showed no meaning of life. Showed that she had never experienced happiness. Arcana's heart sank.

This girl, Anna, had never been happy in her entire life of existence.

That got Arcana thinking, "How old are you?"

Kazuma could see what she was doing. Whether or not she actually want to know more about Anna, was a different story. But Kazuma could see her intentions. To talk to her. To make Anna forget who her target was and let Ren go free. He smiled. He never knew Arcana had a brain.

Anna stared up at her. She seemed awfully close to where she was before, but that didn't bother her. In fact, she even forgot what she was doing here in the first place. That woman's soothing voice had somehow caused her to lose focus. Her eyes twinkled when Anna looked up at her. It made her feel like a little girl again.

"I'm 14." She answered. Arcana nodded.

"Hello, Anna," She said. The girl couldn't help but look up at her, "I'm Arcana," She swiped her hand to the man beside her, "This is Kazuma," And then flicked her hands towards her again, "And the boy you are threatening a life to is Ren."

That made Anna freeze. Before she knew, the girl had dropped the knife and backed away from the boy. What had she come to do again? What was her goal? It didn't matter now. She had to run, before anyone of them called someone. She didn't want to go back. Not to that hell hole.

Arcana could see the desperation in her eyes, "Don't worry, we won't call anyone."

The girl shoulders dropped, "Y-You won't?"

Arcana smiled, placing her hand onto her chest, "I promise."

Kazuma stood there quietly, observing how patient Arcana was being. It was a surprise. Arcana was never patient. Never thinking. Always going head first. He didn't know whether it was because he was around, or because she was a different person now but, he could see, that Arcana was growing up. Fast.

"Let me see those bruises." She said, beckoning her to come forward. Anna stayed put. She was too scared, everyone could see it.

Kazuma gave out a sigh, he knew they would be here all day if no one did anything. He stared at the girl carefully, making sure that she didn't drop.

The wind shifted, placing itself underneath Anna quickly. Before anyone could blink, she flew from the meeting room door to Arcana's feet. It didn't even take her a second for Arcana to know who it was. She turned to glare at him.

"Kazuma."

He merely shrugged, "I didn't do it." Although his voice was clearly mocking.

The blood-haired woman looked at Anna, forgetting all about it. She knelt in front of her, placing her finger a few inches away from her skin, "May I?"

The girl nodded and Arcana had her warm, smooth fingers on Anna's hard, cracked ones. Arcana could feel that Anna was rotting away. Quickly. And she had to do something to stop it. For a young girl to die when she had barely started her life, is unforgettable. And the person who let them die cannot be forgiven.

"Do you have that elixir thing?" She asked, obviously aiming her question at Kazuma.

Anna just barely watched.

"No," He answered, "I could get some but it would be a while."

Arcana's eyes sought Kazuma's, "How long?"

He shrugged, "Long."

Before Anna could realize it, Arcana stood in front of Kazuma, glaring at him in disgust, "That's not an answer."

The man swiped strands of her hair away from Arcana's face mockingly. The girl tried not to blush, "I _answered _your question, didn't I?"

Arcana stared at Ren in exasperation, "And you wonder why I try to kill him." She sighed.

"No, he wonders how you fail."

Arcana had Enraiha out, just as Kazuma predicted. She may have grown up but Arcana was still the same old girl he had known for years.

"Umm..." Anna mumbled, trying to get the pretty girl's attention again. Ren shuffled towards her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry," He smiled, "They do this all the time."

Anna wasn't quite understanding. For the way she was brought up, Anna always thought that-

"Aren't couples not meant to fight?"

Blood rushed to Ren without warning, Anna just shrugged.

"Umm..." Ren didn't quite know what to say. He was trying to explain the relationship about his brother and Arcana to the girl who threatened to kill him minutes ago. He knew he had just hit a new low.

"Ayano, will you-" Jugo commented.

Arcana's eyes were still focused on Kazuma, and her flaming sword was still trying to cut through him, but she still answered, "It's Arcana."


	7. Chapter 7

It didn't take long. Actually, it only took a few minutes. It was surprising how easy it was to make a 14 year-old girl get to sleep. One minute, she was threatening her cousin's life, then Arcana was examining her bruises, finding out that she was slowly dying, and then the next minute...she was asleep. Curled into a tight ball in the corner of the room, a woolly purple blanket covering her from head-to-toe.

Arcana watched her sleep, smiling to herself when she would make cute noises. When Anna slept, she had such a baby face, exactly like Kazuma. Arcana blushed at the memory. His lips so close to her, the way he looked into her eyes. It took everything the blue-eyed had to try and calm down. Maybe she just needed to go outside.

"A-Arcana?" The sound of Ren's voice brought the girl to reality. They were all sitting in a circle, deciding whether or not they should take the girl in or not, "Is something wrong?"

Arcana swept a look at Kazuma, who had his eyes on Jugo, then shook her head. She had to forget. Quickly. Otherwise she would be red for the rest of her life.

"No, nothing's wrong," She murmured before returning her gaze towards Anna, "Will she stay with us?"

Jugo took a big sip of his tea. Arcana knew whenever he did that, he was thinking. Nothing like he usually did. But thinking hard. As if it was a matter of life and death. For some reason, Arcana thought it was.  
They remained in silent as Jugo continued to wonder. Arcana thought of this as a good time, to watch Anna again. She was sleeping in an unusual position. Her bottom was high up in the air, her face planted against the pillow and her arms spread out in front of her. The woman had to cover up a giggle to keep the tension in the air serious.

"She will stay," Jugo finally managed. They all twisted their eyes to look at him. Arcana almost gave out a sigh of relief, "But not for long though."

They all nodded, "Understood."

Arcana stood up, bowing towards Jugo, before placing Anna into a more comfortable position. She moved with grace so that the girl wouldn't stir, and backed away slowly when she did. Kazuma watched with amusement as she swiped Anna's hair from her forehead, thinking that Arcana looked like a born mother. Ren quickly bid them goodnight, running off to his room when he could see Kazuma staring. He obviously did not want to see anything embarrassing.

Jugo told them that Arcana was to begin her training tomorrow, in hopes that she would be able to control herself. Arcana thought about her powers, flexing her fingers again and again. She just hoped that it wasn't powerful. Or life-threatening to anyone. She sighed. Jugo, understanding how his daughter was feeling, stood up and bid the two of them goodnight.

Leaving Kazuma and Arcana alone. Or, the only ones awake.

Of course, Arcana thought there was no need to panic. It was Kazuma. There was nothing to be afraid of. But she couldn't stop her heart from beating rapidly, making her think that it was going to jump out of her chest. She clutched her shirt in dread. Arcana just hoped that Kazuma wasn't catching onto her panic attack.

He was. And he was enjoying it. Kazuma glanced over at the girl, her eyes darting over at him then anywhere else for a second, in amusement. She didn't notice a smirk spread across his face, then grow wider when the woman blushed.

It was time for some fun.

* * *

They hadn't been talking for 20 minutes now and Arcana was starting to get worried. Despite the fact that, Kazuma seemed closer than he did a second ago, Arcana felt like the walls around her were closing in. Fast. She stared at Kazuma when his knees were touching hers, widening her eyes when his face was close. Exactly like last time.

"When did you get so close?" She asked, saying the first sentence that popped into her head. Kazuma smiled at her, showing his white teeth.

"I was always this close." Arcana shook her head. The frown on her face deepening.

"No you weren't."

Kazuma nodded, "Yes, I was," He placed his hand on the woman's forehead, giving himself a praise when she blushed red, "Have you got a fever?"

The sudden change of course. Arcana didn't know what to think. She swiped her head, "No!" She covered her mouth when Anna made a small cry, "No, I don't."

The man leaned his face towards her, "You sure, Princess?"

Arcana swallowed hard. His hand was warm and the butterflies in her stomach just wasn't calming down, "P-Positive," Realizing what his intention was, she slapped his hand away, "Why are you so close?"

"Why aren't you moving away?" That got Arcana. She thought about it for a second. At first, she thought it was because she couldn't...but then she felt all that space behind her and that suggestion seemed implausible. Then, she thought it was because he was distracting her. That part was only half true. Then Arcana knew, and no matter how many times she wanted to deny it, it was because she didn't want to. His presence was making her mind calm. Making her think that everything was alright and everything was going to go back to normal. She didn't want to lose that feeling...

But she didn't want to kiss him, either.

Kazuma inched his face closer to her, cradling her face to the side so she could see her lips. This time, and only this once, he was thinking of actually kissing her. He couldn't resist the temptation anymore. She was beautiful, and he wanted her to know it. His lips was an inch away. That was when he saw it again.

The markings.

They were beckoning to him. Exactly like last time. He wanted to know more about it. Wanted to ask her if she felt it. But he couldn't. This moment was too good to spoil. Too good to pass up. He would ask about the later. When he had finished.

Arcana felt a tugging sensation towards him. She wanted him to press his lips to her already. She wanted it now. She placed her hand on the back of Kazuma's neck, letting him know that she was ready. And he came closer. It was so close. So close.

But something just had to happen.

"Arcana?"

The voice sounded tired. It could only be Anna. They froze, thinking whether they should just peck. They didn't. The moment was gone. It had passed up. And...

Kazuma had never been pissed off in his entire life.


	8. Chapter 8

Kazuma was pissed. Actually, that wasn't even a word to describe it. Infuriated? No. Angry? Definitely not. Annoyed? Irritated? Fuming? No, nope and no. All of the above? Yes. He was all of the above. When he was just about to make his move, he got interrupted. It seemed to be a constant thing. Kazuma was known to hold a grudge for a very long time. He was pissed when Arcana pushed him away, waving to Anna to check if she was okay. He was pissed when Arcana told Anna that she could stay here for a while. And he was super pissed when Arcana pretended nothing every happened the next day.

All in all, he was not happy.

"Kazuma," Jugo said, knowing that he was spacing out, "I expect you to teach her as well."

Kazuma nodded. He spared a glance at Arcana who still, somehow, seemed beet red. He kept his eyes. He almost laughed again when he saw Arcana's eyes lock with his. She had never looked so embarrassed in her entire life. He didn't want her to know it but,

He thought of it as pretty damn funny.

* * *

"Now," He said. They, Arcana, Ren, the moment-cruncher and himself, stood in the courtyard. The training was about to start, "Let's see what you can do."

Arcana's cheek was still red. She kept her eyes on the ground, knowing that if she looked up, she would remember what happened. How closet they were too...she swiftly shook her head. Her mind focused on the here and now, focusing on what she could be able to do. She flexed her fingers.

Kazuma noticed her expression, "Think hard, Arcana."

She did. Her mind focused on the powers yet to be discovered. She waited. For a very long time. Arcana could see that Kazuma was losing his patience. She gulped quietly.

"Here," He said, walking towards her. She gawked at the ground; he was just too close. She could literally feel his warmth coming from his body. The heat around her cheeks deepened, "Let me help." She shook her head. He didn't listen. Kazuma grabbed Arcana's chin, making her look at him in the eye.

Arcana felt the markings vibrate. She could feel it but she didn't care. She was only thinking about the oh-so-close kiss they had. The kiss which Anna interrupted. Subconsciously, she licked her lips. Kazuma pretended he didn't notice.

The green markings around her ankle glowed with pride, rattling the Earth for a little while. They all stared at the ground. If not only just a second later, a crack appeared between Ayano and Kazuma, separating the two of them. They had no time to think about it though, since an giant winged, forest green earth creature flew out of the ground. It had that dark aura around it; the same aura that a Yōma had. The creature looked at Arcana, placing itself onto the ground, then bowed.

She simply gawked at it in awe.

"That thing is huge." Anna said, taking a step towards it. The creature craned it's neck. Arcana listened to it's conscious.

"His name is Batsu," Arcana replied, widening her eyes with surprise, "He's the creature from the Earth that lives to serve the Great Kings."

Kazuma smiled when she looked at him. No wonder why Bernhardt wanted her. She had the power to destroy the whole world. He stepped back when he saw Anna reach out her hand to touch him. Batsu snarled in response. Creatures like that did not like being touched. Kazuma knew that much. He was still pissed off to tell her that.

Arcana tried to do the same. Batsu leaned in towards her, accepting her embrace. Anna pouted.

"That's not fair." She whined. Kazuma craned his neck to her.

"He does serve her." He replied, trying to make it sound innocent.

Batsu stepped back, twisting his body so he could face Kazuma. The man looked at him in confusion. The creature bowed down to him to, leaning in towards him when he offered out his hand. Kazuma couldn't quite understand. Arcana listened to his conscious once more, furrowing her brows when he finished.

"He says, 'It's an honor to meet the guardian of the Princess'." She said. Kazuma stared at her. Guardian?

The thought was quickly dismissed when Batsu opened the ground again, flying deep into the core. Before anyone knew it, he was gone. Arcana thought of something else. Thought of calling a different creature. The white markings now started to rattle, making the clouds above them scatter away in fear. They all looked up. A beautiful, pale white dragon fluttered it's way to the ground. The same size as Batsu. It bowed elegantly.

"Her name is Anaye," Arcana explained, getting used to their voices, "She's the creature from the sky."

They all gawked. Kazuma decided to test something out. He took a step towards her, stretching out his arm to touch. Anaye glanced at him before bowing, glowing with pride when the man touched her head. Arcana tilted her head, confused again.

"She says, 'I hope I work as hard you do, Master, with protecting the Princess,'" Kazuma patted her head. Master?

Again, the though wavered away when Anaye soared to the sky, disappearing with the clouds that now hurried back. Kazuma and Arcana looked at each other almost simultaneously. The same confused expression placed on their face. The girl shook her head, focusing on a different creature this time. The orange markings glowed this time. Unexpectedly, the sun from the sky began to burn ferociously. An orange, sharp creature hit the ground before anyone could even blink. It bowed, just as the others did.

"He is Dyrad. Creature from the sun." Arcana explained, yet again. The animal bowed towards Kazuma, not even waiting for him to step close. This animal was quick.

"Master, I will try my very hardest for your loved one." This caused another ounce of confusion. Loved one?

He flew away, not even waiting for anyone to react. Arcana was confused. Kazuma was pissed and confused. This was really starting to get on his nerves. Guardian? Master? Loved one? How could all those things aim at him? He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Kazuma," Arcana asked, "Is there something you're not telling me?"

The man didn't bother to answer. Arcana's patience was wearing thin. But Kazuma wasn't worrying about that. He wanted to do an experiment. He stomped over to Arcana, the poor girl not knowing what was in store for her. He grabbed her face and brought it insanely close to his. Anna and Ren screamed, covering each other's sight. The markings appeared in Arcana's eyes almost instantly. This time, he wasn't intending to do anything.

"Can you feel it?" He asked. Arcana gave him a look.

"You mean your breath?" She asked, not bothering to mention that it felt warm. Smelt like alcohol. And made her heart beat non-stop.

"No," He said, rolling his eyes, "The markings."

Now this was getting on the girl's nerves, "What markings?" Kazuma refused to answer, "I've only got 4." She said, referring to the ones on her body. Kazuma shook his head.

"5." He replied. Arcana fidgeted, "Just, look into my eyes." Reluctantly, she did. Arcana swept her eyes over his, seeing faint light blue markings in her eyes. He wasn't lying. She grabbed his face, bringing them closer. They didn't have the mind to notice what they were actually doing.

"What's that?" She asked.

"I thought you knew." Kazuma answered, tilting so he could look at them further. At that moment, Arcana's heart began to beat out of control, causing the markings in her eyes to blow. The aura seemed into Kazuma. He let her go quickly, feeling a strong burning sensation on his tongue. Arcana felt the same.

The pain continued for a while, making them thrive and scream. And once it stopped they both looked at each other, making their tongues roll out of their mouths. Markings.

Exactly the same.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm very grateful for all the reviews you sent me for Chapter 8! Or even during this fanfic. It gave me the insipration to write this chapter. Therefore, I'm dedicating this whole chapter to you guys. I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's not coming off!" Arcana yelled rashly, rubbing her tongue back and forth.

Kazuma just watched her, rolling his tongue in his mouth. It felt like nothing had happened to it. Like no marking or ancient writing imprinted itself on it. The moment they looked at each other's tongues then asked Ren and Anna whether they were the same (answering yes), Arcana hadn't calmed down since. She would rub her tongue with her finger, then scrub with a sponge, drink loads of water and go back to rubbing it again. Sure, Kazuma had seen the girl go ballistic before, but nothing like this. It was like this was a matter of life and death.

"Rub away! Rub away!" Her frustration was becoming pristine in her voice. Ren had run off to get another glass of water while Anna just stared. Gawking just like Kazuma. But, with Anna staring in confusion, thinking that Arcana was going crazy, Kazuma stared in amusement, thinking what else he could do to make her scream.

"It's not coming off." She whined, slumping to the ground with a humph!

"It wouldn't," Kazuma said, placing his hands onto his hips, "It's underneath the skin."

Arcana looked at him evilly. A little evil glint appearing in her eyes. Kazuma stood still, smiling at himself with her reaction. But, if he had to honest, he was a bit freaked out too. Not as much as her of course, but still worried. The marking consisted of four dragons, each looking at each other from diagonal positions. This made a little diamond in the middle. It made no sense. Why did he have the mark?

He was just a wind user.

He was so wrapped up in that, he didn't notice Arcana trying to talk to him. His mind was somewhere else.

"KA-ZU-MA!" She yelled, summoning out her Enraiha to swing him upside the head. He dodged effortlessly, his mind still somewhere else.

"What did I do now?" He asked, his eyes settling on her open tongue.

"You weren't listening!" She screamed. Kazuma dodged another swing.

"I was." He answered. Arcana shook her head.

Jugo appeared out of the door almost instantly, watching them with his warm cup of tea. He waited until Kazuma had dodged a roughly 7 swings to speak up, "Arcana! Kazuma!" They stopped, twisting their heads to the voice, "Come with me."

The couple followed in, but not before Arcana gave him a few more swings. Jugo sat in his usual spot, while the other two settled in front of him. Outside, Ren showed Anna his fire, shooting out fireballs and making fireworks. Anna had never been so amazed. Ren couldn't help but look at her and see Ayumi. He tried to forget.

"Right," He said, continuing with the fireworks.

Inside, Jugo brought out the same book that was used to awaken Arcana. She felt the power radiate off of it, just like last time. He flipped a few pages, then placed it on the ground. Arcana leaned forward, marveling in amazement. The writing in the book was exactly the same as the one on her body. A paragraph of writing written beside it. Kazuma leaned in too. Trying to read the thing upside down.

"This book contains everything you need to know." He said. Arcana looked at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" She asked. Jugo took a quick sip of his tea.

"I needed to know that you were ready," He looked at the two. They had never looked so grown up before this, "You are."

Kazuma flipped the book so it was facing them. He searched for the marking, the dragon one, and spotted it at the bottom of the page. Arcana leaned in too.  
It read:

**Dragon's Crest**

_This marking is only rewarded to the daughter of the Great King, and the guardian/betrothed of her.  
It symbolizes the power the guardian has over the dragons. The love he has for the Princess. And  
the mysterious aroma over the world. It is said that when the two markings reunite, the Princess will  
be joined with the guardian once again, and will be more powerful than Belial itself._

That's all it said. Kazuma stared at the page, furious. The rest of the explanation had been ripped off, and the remaining words had irremovable ink on it. This paragraph wasn't going to tell him why he was this guardian person. Or why he was suddenly betrothed to Arcana. Which, by the way, he would've remembered proposing to. Kazuma glanced at Arcana, studying her expression to see if she got anything. Nothing. She looked just as furious as he did.

"This doesn't explain anything." He mumbled ferociously. Jugo stared at him, confused, but not showing it on his face.

"What is there not to understand?" He asked. That gave them enough for both of them to roll out their tongues, showing their mark. Jugo stared at it, his concern now showing on his face.

Arcana read over the paragraph once more, maybe there was something they were missing.

"It said, 'If the two markings reunite...'" She intervened the silence. Kazuma glanced at her, waiting for the sentence to sink into her brain.

Yes, the two markings had to reunite but did she know what that means. Arcana may sometimes act like an adult, and sometimes thinks things through, but she was still Ayano. That meant her brain was slower than a snail. He waited.

Arcana still wasn't getting it, "Why don't we reunite the markings?"

Kazuma decided to wait again. Hoping that he wouldn't have to explain it himself. She really wasn't this slower, was she? He couldn't remember her taking so long to figure something out. He sighed when she still had that confused expression on her face.

"Where are the markings?" Kazuma asked. The red-haired look at him, tilting her head.

"On our tongues." She replied. He nodded.

"And when they say 'reunite the markings' what does that mean to you?" He waited. Arcana rolled her tongue on the surface of her teeth.

"It means," She said as if it was an easy question, "We have to put them together." She still wasn't getting it.

Kazuma looked over at her, exasperated. Jugo just keep quiet and watched, amused by how such a simple marking could bring them so close together. Kazuma grabbed her shoulders and shook. She stared.

"Think about it for a second, Princess?" He said. The girl blushed then did as she was told. It took her some time but she was finally able to figure it out.

Arcana jumped up, backing away from Kazuma in haste. He let out all his stress in one quick breath. Her face became red.

"W-What are y-you saying!?" She squealed, pressing her back to the door. The man shook his head.

"You were suggesting it." He shrugged. Her mouth trembled in anger.

"I wasn't suggesting anything!" She yelled, covering her mouth in urgency.

Of course, Kazuma and Arcana have had their moments. And yes, they were so very close to kissing, but the girl wasn't actually imagining doing it. Why had their markings have to be on their tongues? Why couldn't it be anywhere else? She looked at her markings on her body. Then blushed. Maybe it wasn't so bad that it was on their tongues after all.

Kazuma slapped his forehead with his hand, "So, what should we do?"

The both looked at Jugo, who still had his interest on his warm tea. His eyes looked up at them but he still sipped his tea. They both flinched.

"I'm sorry Arcana, but you'll have to reunite the markings." He said, that was the only way they could find out its power. And plus the fact he had wanted to see them together for a very long time.

Arcana's mouth dropped open, unbelieving, "Father!" Kazuma looked at his tongue, it wouldn't be long.

Eager to get this over and done with, Kazuma stood up. He strolled over to Arcana, whose face was still unbelieving. It was going to be quick, he wasn't going to dawdle. The reason why he was given this stupid marking was killing him. He wanted to find out why.

And from Arcana's face, so did she.

He grabbed her chin and swiftly brought his mouth to her. Arcana kept her lips tightly shut, making it hard for Kazuma to do anything. He sighed, inching his face away from her.

"Open your mouth." He ordered quietly, making sure Jugo didn't hear. Arcana took a peek at him but kept his mouth shut. She had never been so red in her life.

"Come on." He said, "The sooner we do this, the better."

He pressed his lips to her; she still wouldn't budge. He somehow knew this was going to be harder that expected. He let out another sigh.

"I'm not doing it." She mumbled, looking at Kazuma evilly. He raised his eyebrow, understanding now what he was supposed to do. It was bad. But he had to do it.

Kazuma pressed his cold lips onto Arcana's neck. She kept her mouth closed, trying not to gasp from the sensation. She didn't like that she liked this feeling she was getting. She didn't like it at all. When she didn't budge, he trailed his way to her ear, nibbling onto her flesh. She had never been so sensitive, but then again, no had ever done that before. As much as she resisted. As much as it pained her to do so. Arcana pressed herself closer to him, still keeping her lips tightly shut. Kazuma tutted. She was stubborn. Yet strong. He grabbed her around the waist, making her more secure in his arms. She whimpered softly as the man kissed his way down to her neck again. Biting a sensitive part of her flesh. Arcana gasped, not prepared for that. This was the moment he waited for. Not waiting a second, Kazuma pressed himself against her. To his surprise, she didn't react badly. Sure, Arcana wriggled for a while but afterwards she gave in. Letting his tongue react with hers. It was longer than Kazuma intended it to be, but only because he was enjoying it. But when the two markings finally connected, a force came between them, making them part.

Arcana felt herself disappear. She felt like tiny fragments drifting away. Why was she feeling like this?

_The Princess will be joined with the guardian once again._

They didn't mean literally, did they? She gasped as she realized that her disappearing body was growing towards Kazuma, who stood there in awe. The girl watched her hands quietly form into tiny crystals. Small, floating crystals. She screamed when she could no longer feel her feet then stared at Kazuma when her shoulders were gone. She wasn't going to be gone forever, right?

* * *

Kazuma tried to catch her as she fell then vanished. Before he could blink, she was gone. Poof! Just like that. The crystals that came from her, vanished too. However, he was unaware that the crystals had morphed into mist, settling into Kazuma's body. His face became all hot, his muscles ached uncontrollably and he felt like he would die at any second.

_Where the heck am I?_

Kazuma stilled as he heard her voice. Arcana? Where? Where? He looked around, trying to find the insanely blood-red hair. Then his muscles ached again. It didn't take a second before he fell to the ground. Jugo was beside him, giving him scented warm tea to calm his nerves.

"Kazuma," He asked, "Kazuma, can you hear me?"

He only managed to hear it barely.

"Arcana, where is she?" Jugo loomed over at him, smiling to himself.

"Where do you think?"

_Kazuma? Kazuma? Are you there?_

The man shot up, looking around once more. He didn't open his mouth, but he thought of her.

_Kazuma, what are you thinking of?_

He froze. Putting himself to the test, he thought of how he kissed Arcana's neck.

_T-That didn't happen! You hear!__?_

Wow. That meant Arcana was inside of him. He thought of that for a while before realizing it. Arcana was inside him! Is that what they meant? The Princess will be joined with the guardian! Why? What good could come out of it?

_Beats me, _She said, _How__ do I get out of you?_ _You're too warm._

Kazuma smirked as she stuttered by what she just said. He smiled to himself. He could do many things to make her freak out.

_Hey!_ She yelled, _Don't think of any perverted stuff, do you hear me! Kazuma! KA-ZU-MA!_

He waited for a moment before thinking. If he could just picture something in his head, Arcana could see it right?

_Right, _She interrupted, _No perverted things!_

He didn't listen, instead thought of kissing her again. This time, maybe a little bit rougher.

_Like hell you'll do that to me, _She screamed, though he could hear the embarrassment in her voice, _Kazuma, stop! Kazuma?_

He smiled as she screamed.

_KA-ZU-MA!_

* * *

**I hoped you liked it. Write you later!**


	10. Chapter 10

_K-Kazuma, stop that!_

Kazuma had been thinking things that had caused Arcana stressed for approximately two hours now. He was bored. So very bored. He couldn't handle just sitting there, while the others studied him, quietly. They were trying to find a way to get Arcana out of him. Trying to find a way to separate this insanely close bond. He tried to keep himself entertained. Tried to make himself not bored. And the only way to do that was:

Make Arcana go crazy!

He closed his eyes and visioned his hands trailing from her neck up to her lips. He could practically hear Arcana stuttering in embarrassment in the background. It wasn't funny making Arcana go completely ballistic. It was hilarious!

_Kazuma,_ Arcana babbled, _Kazuma, stop this right now!_

He chuckled to himself quietly. That was until he felt a burning sensation coming from inside of him. He studied his hands worriedly, turning it back and forth. It didn't look out of the ordinary. But he could feel every part of him burning up. Why? Why was he feeling this?

_Kazuma, you pervert! You should go to jail! JAIL!_

The man told Arcana to calm down but she just kept raving. He was burning up. Kazuma felt like a pile of fire, not wasting any time as to get to the limit. He couldn't stand fire. He was a wind user. Got it! He was a wind user. Closing his eyes and focusing, he summoned the wind from every corner of this area to gather into one spot. It was cooling, but he was still burning up. He had never felt such pain before.

"Kazuma?" Ren asked, "Kazuma, are you okay?" The wind continued to rattle, damaging all hearing Kazuma had.

He started to remember. The sensation was reminding him of something, something which he would not like to remember. The burnt marks he had on his body when he watched Tsui-Ling die. The room was so hot. So much that he lost consciousness seconds after the girl he loved died. He tried to forget, but it was only getting clearer.

Unknowing to him, Arcana had calmed down and she was seeing everything.

_Kazuma, hey, Kazuma?_

He couldn't take it anymore. Not anymore. He tried to swallow all the pain he felt at that moment when he realized that he wasn't going to be with Tsui-Ling anymore. Arcana could see it all. Feeling a deep set of despair, when she saw Tsui-Ling disappear. It reminded her of someone. Someone that had only just appeared into her mind now. Her mother. Looking exactly like her, and crying her heart out when she knew she was giving up her only daughter. The cold wind inside Arcana grew, and the hot burn inside Kazuma shone.

It was seconds later when both of them couldn't stand. Kazuma jerked his eyes open with a jolt. All wind and fire soaring out of them in seconds. Ren and Anna faced the ground, covering their heads and screaming at the amount of power they had from them.

"Stop!" Kazuma yelled, dots of memories coming in from every part of his mind.

It was when the power stop, did the crystals that relaxed into Kazuma before, shiver its way out of him. They all gathered beside him, forming into the body of Arcana. The blood-red hair flowed again but her blue eyes were dull. She fainted only seconds later.

* * *

"Arcana?" The voice of Anna made the girl's head bounce.

The memory of her mother flashed for a second before disappearing. What the heck? She had never felt something so strong or powerful like that in her entire life. All she could remember was the cooling wind Kazuma gathered, and her feeling it freeze every part of her soul. It was weird. To remember her mother at that exact moment.

"Hey," She whispered, her voice as weak as ever, "I'm fine."

Anna was leaning over her, and she could swear little tears were forming in her eyes. Arcana sat up slowly, patting the girl's head in comfort. That was all she could do. Her whole body ached, and every nerve was as cold as ice. It was odd. Creepy. Because just before all this chaos, she felt, well, normal. But now, she felt like a whole different person. And she didn't like it. Arcana wanted to be Ayano again. Wanted to be the heir to the Kannagi Clan. Nothing else.

"Hey," She giggled, wiping the girl's tears, "Don't cry."

Anna smiled as she caved into the woman's hand. For some reason, Arcana felt close to Anna. They had barely known each other for more than a month, but Arcana felt like a big sister to her. As Anna sobbed into Arcana's hand, Ren entered the room. He dropped the medicine and rushed to Arcana's side. How long was she out? It didn't matter, now she was patting two children who decided to start crying.

"We thought you were dead." They wailed simultaneously. Arcana chuckled quietly, her jaw still killing.

"Now, why would you think that?" She asked, not expecting the answer they gave her. Ren looked up at her, swiping the tears away from his eyes as quickly as they came.

"Your heart stopped beating," He answered and she was sure her heart stopped at that minute, "It would beat at one point, then stop the next."

Arcana thought about it for a second. She would have to ask about that later, but worrying about it now, would only make things worse for the two. She smiled, stroking both of their heads in rhythm. Their sobs had calmed down a little.

"Hey, don't worry now," She whispered, pressing her lips onto Anna's head then onto Ren's, "I'm fine."

"For now." Arcana was the only one that heard Kazuma's mumble. She looked up, spotting him resting onto the door frame, staring at the cloudy sky. For now...

She sighed. Her muscles still ached and her head was starting to beat, but she wasn't going to tell the two sobbing kittens that. They had already been worried enough. She couldn't put more weight onto their shoulders.  
Another sigh came out of her cracked lips. How long was she out?

"5 days," Kazuma answered, "You were out for 5 days."

Arcana was too shocked to even question how he could read her mind. Or why. She was just thinking of the times when she was close to death. 5 days? That's longer than when she was ill from food poisoning. 5 days? No wonder why they thought she was dead. Arcana was in thought for so long, she didn't realize that Ren was trying to talk to her.

"Arcana," He whispered, "Do you want some water?"

The said girl stared at him, smiling when it registered in her brain. Ren hurried, grabbing and giving Anna a look that didn't go unnoticed by Kazuma, to get some water. It just left the the daughter of the Great King and her guardian. Arcana wanted to apologize to Kazuma. As much as she was stubborn, she knew the reason why Kazuma remembered his former lover was because of her anger. And she knew that she shouldn't have looked into his memories. She wanted to apologize, but how?

"You can say I'm sorry," Kazuma interjected, "But it's not your fault."

Arcana looked at him, again too worried to actually be shocked for how he could see into her mind. Kazuma took a step into the room, making sure that he didn't touch her. I'm sorry. For some reason, Arcana felt like it wasn't enough.

"It's enough." Kazuma said. Arcana glared at him evilly.

"Stay out of my brain." She finally snapped. Kazuma shrugged.

"I can't," He sided, "I can just hear it."

She sighed, giving up.

Kazuma stared at her. During the 5 days Arcana was asleep, some deep voice seemed to talk to him whenever he was in the room with her. He finally knew who he was. He finally knew what he was meant to do. He finally knew what the markings meant.  
Before Arcana looked up, Kazuma sat in front of her, making her jump when she looked up. He took her hands, and made her eyes connect with his.

"Arcana," He sighed. The girl raised her eyebrow at him, "Forgive me for this."

One moment, he was holding her hands, making Arcana nervous, and then the next, his lips was connected to hers and she felt this glowing heat coming from their hands. She didn't know why she pushed him away, or why she didn't slap him after they had finished. But, maybe, it was because her eyes were on their hands, another and one final marking appearing on her both of their palms.

And they both knew what it was. The ancient writing for the name Arcana was a yin and yang symbol; the writing for Kazuma's name was a Capricorn sign. Now they were joined together.

"Hey," Arcana said, staring at the strange symbol, "I'm so confused."

Kazuma chuckled, "I'll explain it all later," He looked at the symbol one last time, smiling. At least, now, he knew why he didn't have the fire power his father warned him about. At least, now, he knew why he was here. What he was meant to do.


End file.
